The Gary Cagaanan Interview
Conducted by Roy Cullen
At 50 years of age, Gary Cagaanan is one of JKD’s hidden heroes. An original Oakland student, Gary has spent his life in Oakland and is in his final years as a San Francisco Police Department Lieutenant. Gary has specialized in several areas of police work, which brought him into contact with the rougher side of a tough neighborhood, including gang warfare, and teaching firearms and defensive tactics. In addition to his love of Jeet Kune Do, Gary also earned the rank of instructor under the legendary escrima master, Sonny Umpad.
What was your first contact with martial arts?
GC: My first formal contact with the martial arts was in Kajukenbo under Sifu Al Dacascos, who in his own right is a tremendous martial artist. No doubt I would have continued training under him, but at a young age I didn't have the means to follow him as he changed school locations. Still, it was a privilege to begin formal training under him, and I consider myself very fortunate for having done so. I am very proud of my Kajukenbo roots.
How did you become aware of Bruce and Jimmy's school?
GC: That’s an interesting story. I knew that Bruce had a school somewhere in Oakland. Knowing the exact location was another story, since it was noncommercial. Unless you had some "inside" info, it was tough to trace.
Anyway, I was in a high school biology class when I sat next to a fellow student who was doodling on a note pad. I kind of glanced over to see what he was sketching, and to my surprise, he was sketching Bruce's/Jimmy's kicking dummy that I'd seen photos of in a martial arts magazine. I asked him if he studied martial arts and, if so, where? He replied that he studied with Jimmy Lee. I was stunned. So I tested him with a battery of questions, and he seemed to have all the right answers. This fellow turned out to be Howard Williams.
After class, we went around behind the school building, and he showed me what JKD was all about. I was totally blown away by Howard. The effectiveness, the power, the simplicity, the directness, the non-classical approach, the likes of which I'd never seen before. Although Howard was probably 17-years-old at the time, he had a way of explaining, demonstrating and teaching that was beyond his years. As far as his skill level was concerned, there was no doubt in my mind that he could probably beat the hell out of most grown men. So my initial introduction to JKD was through Howard. We trained everywhere and anywhere, in between classes, after school, on weekends, in backyards, garages, driveways, schoolyards, etc.
Howard has a reputation as being a strong fighter and someone who was confident to put JKD to the test. Did you ever see any of his confrontations?
GC: I never saw any of Howard's exploits, but I heard about them. I can tell you one thing: Howard Williams was (and still is) one bad dude. Like I said, he was like a smaller version of Mike Tyson. He had that rare combination of speed, power and flexibility, plus great cat-like reflexes. He was fun to watch and an inspiration as well.
How did what Howard showed differ from what you had previously studied?
GC: What Howard Williams showed me greatly differed from the Kajukenbo that I had been studying. Kajukenbo, as you're probably familiar, is a combination of the traditional arts of karate, judo, kenpo and Chinese boxing. What Howard demonstrated was very non-traditional movements. What was strikingly different was the economy of movement of JKD, the western-style boxing stance (southpaw or strong foot forward vs. wide, strong horsestances), the interceptive aspect of JKD, and the trapping. Eventually, I made my way to Jimmy's home, and was accepted as a student of the Oakland branch.
Can you recall the first meeting you had with James Lee?